A stick-type cosmetic container in which a stick-type cosmetic filled therein is projected and retracted by rotating an outer cylinder is widely used as a container for lipsticks and other cosmetics such as lip creams and concealers because of its ease of use.
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional stick-type cosmetic container comprises a rotational cylinder 7, sleeve 2, inner container 5 filled with a stick-type cosmetic, outer cylinder 12, and junction 13, for example. In FIG. 1, the view on the right is a cross-sectional view substantially showing only the inner container 5 (the stick-type cosmetic is not shown), and the view on the left is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the sleeve 2, outer cylinder 12, and junction 13 are removed.
In the cosmetic container, a small projection 6 is provided in the lower part of the outer surface of the inner container 5, and an inner container guiding groove 4 is provided in the sleeve 2. The screw 8 is threaded on the inner surface of the rotational cylinder 7. When the stick-type cosmetic container is assembled, the junction 13 plays a role in integrating the rotational cylinder 7 with the sleeve 2. The outer cylinder 12 covers the rotational cylinder 7 encompassingly and is secured to the junction 13 by ultrasonic welding, bonding using an adhesive, or the like.
In the stick-type cosmetic container 1, the outer cylinder 12 is secured to the junction 13 and is integrated with the rotational cylinder 7. When the outer cylinder 12 is rotated, the rotational cylinder 7 is also rotated. The small projection 6 in the inner container 5 is moved up and down along the inner container guiding groove 4 in the sleeve 2 according to the rotation of the screw 8 in the rotational cylinder 7. The stick-type cosmetic is projected and retracted according to this movement.
In this manner, the small projection 6 in the inner container 5 is moved up and down along the inner container guiding groove 4 in the sleeve 2 according to the rotation of the rotational cylinder 7. However, if the small projection 6 is moved endlessly, the inner container 5 finally drops out of the sleeve 2. Therefore, movement of the small projection 6 in the inner container 5 must be limited within a certain range. In a conventional stick-type cosmetic container, the inner container 5 is prevented from dropping out by closing one end of the inner container guiding groove 4, holding the opening of the inner container guiding groove 4 by the outer cylinder 12 from outside so that the inner container does not drop out, or not threading the screw 8 on the inner surface of the rotational cylinder 7 to the end.
A conventional stick-type cosmetic container having the above configuration has no problem when the container is used as a disposable container. However, the container is highly inconvenient for use in terms of replacement of the inner container 5, separate disposal of the metal and resin, and the like. Since the inner container 5 is configured not to drop out, the inner container 5 can be replaced by disassembly of the cosmetic container. However, the disassembly is practically impossible because the outer cylinder 12 is secured to the junction 13.
As resource saving and recycling are trends in recent years, cosmetic containers which can be refilled or replaced become preferred. However, due to the above-mentioned reasons, a stick-type cosmetic container for which filling, disassembly, assembly, and separate disposal can be easily performed has not yet been provided. In view of resource saving, a stick-type cosmetic container having a small number of components and having members that can be commonly used for different types of products has been demanded.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a stick-type cosmetic container for which filling, disassembly, assembly, and separate disposal can be easily performed, and of which the inner container does not drop out during normal use.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a stick-type cosmetic container comprising an internal structure of which the number of components is smaller than that of a conventional product and the members are commonly used for different types of products.